September 14, 2017

What are geese?

  • Large, terrestrial birds
  • Herbivorous, often grazers
  • Many species live in families
  • Undertake impressive migrations

Animal Migration

  • Biannual population movement
  • Different population classes may migrate differently
  • May be instinctive or learned.

Geese in Europe: Current Trends

  • Mostly migratory
  • Large increases since 1960s1

1 Fox & Madsen 2017

Geese in Europe: Challenges

  • Conflict with agriculture2
  • Range expansion3
  • Change in migration patterns4
  • Much data, less analysis

What is the role of families in spatio-temporal population patterns of geese wintering in the Netherlands, Belgium, and northern Germany?

Which goose?

Death by Data

What data?

  • Counts of observed flocks (Russia & Holland)
  • Observations of neck-banded geese
  • Observations of geese flying overhead
  • GPS tracking of 19 individuals from Russia
  • GPS tracking of 13 families (64 birds) in Holland
  • Weather data from KNMI and DWD